There are several specific, yet critical, attributes of the SCECAP initiative that set it apart from other ongoing monitoring programs being conducted in South Carolina by SCDHEC (primarily for water quality) and SCDNR (primarily for fishery stock assessments). These include: sampling sites throughout the coastal zone using a random, probability-based approach, using integrated measures of environmental and biological condition that provide a more complete evaluation of overall habitat quality, and monitoring tidal creek habitats. This technical report is the third in a series of reports describing the status of South Carolina’s estuarine habitats.